La Tosca (Puccini) - Synopsis La Tosca - Synopsis An Opera by Giacomo Puccini Opera in three acts by Puccini; words by L. Illica and G. Giacosa after the drama, "La Tosca," by Sardou. Produced, Constanzi Theatre, Rome, January 14, 1900; London, Covent Garden, July 12, 1900. Buenos Aires, June 16, 1900. Metropolitan Opera House, New York, February 4, 1901, with Ternina, Cremonini, Scotti, Gilibert (Sacristan), and Dufriche (Angelotti). CHARACTERS FLORIA TOSCA, a celebrated singer Soprano MARIO CAVARADOSSI, a painter . Tenor BARON SCARPIA, Chief of Police Baritone CESARE ANGELOTTI Bass A GAOLER . Bass A SHEPHERD BOY Contralto Roberti, executioner; a cardinal, judge, scribe, officer, and sergeant, soldiers, police agents, ladies, nobles, citizens, artisan, etc.

Time: June 1800. Place: Rome. Hariclea Darclée in the title role of the opera, La Tosca (1914). This actress had played the title role in La Tosca's world premiere in Rome on 14 Jan 1900. Three sharp, vigorous chords, denoting the imperious yet sinister and vindictive character of Scarpia -- such is the introduction to "Tosca." Act I. The church of Sant Andrea alla Valle. To the right the Attavanti chapel; left a scaffolding, dais, and easel. On the easel a large picture covered by a cloth. Painting accessories. A basket. Enter Angelotti. He has escaped from prison and is seeking a hiding place. Looking about, he recognizes a pillar shrine containing an image of the Virgin, and surmounting a receptacle for holy water. Beneath the feet of the image he searches for and discovers a key, unlocks the Attavanti chapel and disappears within it. The Sacristan comes in. He has a bunch of brushes that he has been cleaning, and evidently is surprised not to find Cavaradossi at his easel.

He looks into the basket, finds the luncheon in it untouched, and now is sure he was mistaken in thinking he had seen the painter enter. The Angelus is rung. The Sacristan kneels. Cavaradossi enters. He uncovers the painting -- a Mary Magdalen with large blue eyes and masses of golden hair. The sacristan recognizes in it the portrait of a lady who lately has come frequently to the church to worship. The good man is scandalized at what he considers a sacrilege. Cavaradossi, however, has other things to think of. He compares the face in the portrait with the features of the woman he loves, the dark-eyes Floria Tosca, famous as a singer. "Recondita armonia di bellezza diverse" (Strange harmony of constrasts deliciously blending), he sings. Meanwhile the Sacristan, engaged in cleaning the brushes in a jug of water, continues to growl over the sacrilege of putting frivolous women into religious paintings. Finally, his task with the brushes over, he points to the basket and asks, "Are you fasting?" "Nothing for me," says the painter.

The Sacristan casts a greedy look at the basket, as he thinks of the benefit he will derive from the artists abstemiousness. The painter goes on with his work. The Sacristan leaves. Angelotti, believing no one to be in the church, comes out of his hiding place. He and Cavaradossi recognize each other. Angelotti has just escaped from the prison in the castle of Sant Angelo. The painter at once offers to help him. Just then, however, Toscas voice is heard outside. The painter presses the basket with wine and viands upon the exhausted fugitive, and urges him back into the chapel, while from without Tosca calls more insistently, "Mario!" Feigning calm, for the meeting with Angelotti, who had been concerned in the abortive uprising to make Rome a republic, has excited him, Cavaradossi admits Tosca. Jealously she insists that he was whispering with some one, and that she heard footsteps and the swish of skirts. Her lover reassures her, tries to embrace her. Gently she reproves him. She cannot let him kiss her before the Madonna until she has prayed to her image and made an offering.

She adorns the Virgins figure with flowers she has brought with her, kneels in prayer, crosses herself and rises. She tells Cavaradossi to await her at the stage door that night, and they will steal away together to his villa. He is still distrait. When he replies, absent-mindedly, he surely will be there, her comment is, "Thou sayst it badly." Then, beginning the love duet, "Non, la sospiri la nostra casetta" (Dost thou not long for our dovecote secluded), she conjures up for him a vision of that "sweet, sweet nest in which we love-birds hide." For the moment Cavaradossi forgets Angelotti; then, however, urges Tosca to leave him, so that he may continue with his work. She is vexed and, when she recognizes in the picture of Mary Magdalen the fair features of the Marchioness Attavanti, she becomes jealous to the point of rage. But her lover soon soothes her. The episode is charming. In fact the libretto, following the Sardou play, unfolds, scene by scene, an always effective drama.

Tosca having departed, Cavaradossi lets Angelotti out of the chapel. He is a brother of the Attavanti, of whom Tosca is so needlessly jealous, and who has concealed a suit of womans clothing for him under the altar. They mention Scarpia -- "A bigoted satyr and hypocrite, secretly steeped in vice, yet most demonstratively pious" -- the first hint we have in the opera of the relentless character, whose desire to possess Tosca is the mainspring of the drama. A cannon shot startles them. It is from the direction of the castle and announces the escape of a prisoner -- Angelotti. Cavaradossi suggests the grounds of his villa as a place of concealment from Scarpia and his police agents, especially the old dried-up well, from which a secret passage leads to a dark vault. It can be reached by a rough path just outside the Attavanti chapel. The painter even offers to guide the fugitive. They leave hastily. The Sacristan enters excitedly. He has great news. Word has been received that Bonaparte has been defeated.

The old man now notices, however, greatly to his surprise, that the painter has gone. Acolytes, penitents, choristers, and pupils of the chapel crowd in from all directions. There is to be a "Te deum" in honour of the victory, and at evening, in the Farnese palace, a cantata with Floria Tosca as soloist. It means extra pay for the choristers. They are jubilant. Scarpia enters unexpectedly. He stands in a doorway. A sudden hush falls upon all. For a while they are motionless, as if spellbound. While preparations are making for the "Te Deum," Scarpia orders search made in the Attavanti chapel. He finds a fan which, from the coat-of-arms on it, he recognizes as having been left there by Angelottis sister. A police agent also finds a basket. As he comes out with it, the Sacristan unwittingly exclaims that it is Cavaradossis, and empty, although the painter had said that he would eat nothing.

It is plain to Scarpia, who has also discovered in the Mary Magdalen of the picture the likeness to the Marchioness Attavanti, that Cavaradossi had given the basket of provisions to Angelotti, and has been an accomplice in his escape. Tosca comes in and quickly approaches the dais. She is greatly surprised not to find Cavaradossi at work on the picture. Scarpia dips his fingers in holy water and deferentially extends them to Tosca. Reluctantly she touches them, then crosses herself. Scarpia insinuatingly compliments her on her religious zeal. She comes to church to pray, not, like certain frivolous wantons -- he points to the picture -- to meet their lovers. He now produces the fan. "Is this a painters brush or a mahlstick?" he asks, and adds that he found it on the easel. Quickly, jealously, Tosca examines it, sees the arms of the attavanti. She had come to tell her lover that, because she is obliged to sing in the cantata she will be unable to meet him that night.

Her reward is this evidence, offered by Scarpia that he has been carrying on a love affair with another woman, with whom he probably has gone to the villa. She gives way to an outburst of jealous rage; then, weeping leaves the chapel, to the gates of which Scarpia gallantly escorts her. He beckons to his agent Spoletta, and orders him to trail her and report to him at evening at the Farnese palace. Church bells are tolling. Intermittently, from the castle of Sant Angelo comes the boom of the cannon. A cardinal has entered and is advancing to the high altar. The "Te deum" has begun. Scarpia soliloquizes vindictively: "Va, Tosca! Nel tuo cuor sannida Scarpia" (Go, Tosca! There is room in your heart for Scarpia). He pauses to bow reverently as the Cardinal passes by. Still soliloquizing, he exults in his power to send Cavaradossi to execution, while Tosca he will bring to his own arms.

For her, he exclaims, he would renounce his hopes of heaven; then kneels and fervently joins in the "Te Deum." This finale, with its elaborate apparatus, its complex emotions and the sinister and dominating figure of Scarpia, set against a brilliant and constantly shifting background, is a stirring and effective climax to the act. Act II. The Farnese Palace. Scarpias apartments on an upper floor. A large window overlooks the palace courtyard. Scarpia is seated at table supping. At intervals he breaks off to reflect. His manner is anxious. An orchestra is heard from a lower story of the palace, where Queen Caroline is giving an entertainment in honour of the reported victory over Bonaparte. They are dancing, while waiting for Tosca, who is to sing in the cantata. Scarpia summons Sciarrone and gives him a letter, which is to be handed to the singer upon her arrival. Spoletta returns from his mission. Tosca was followed to a villa almost hidden by foliage. She remained but a short time. When she left it, Spoletta and his men searched the house, but could not find Angelotti.

Scarpia is furious, but is appeased when Spoletta tells him that they discovered Cavaradossi, put him in irons, and have brought him with them. Through the open window there is now heard the beginning of the cantata, showing that Tosca has arrived and is on the floor below, where are the Queens reception rooms. Upon Scarpias order there are brought in Cavaradossi, Roberti, the executioner, and a judge with his clerk. Cavaradossis manner is indignant, defiant. Scarpias at first suave. Now and then Toscas voice is heard singing below. Finally Scarpia closes the window, thus shutting out the music. His questions addressed to Cavaradossi are now put in a voice more severe. He has just asked, "Once more and for the last time," where is Angelotti, when Tosca, evidently alarmed by the contents of the note received from Scarpia, hurries in and, seeing Cavaradossi, fervently embraces him. Under his breath he manages to warn her against disclosing anything she saw at the villa.

Scarpia orders that Cavaradossi be removed to an adjoining room and his deposition there taken. Tosca is not aware that it is the torture chamber the door to which has closed upon her lover. With Tosca Scarpia begins his interview quietly, deferentially. He has deduced from Spolettas report of her having remained but a short time at the villa that, instead of discovering the Attavanti with her lover, as she jealously had suspected, she had found him making plans to conceal Angelotti. In this he has just been confirmed by her frankly affectionate manner toward Cavaradossi. At first she answers Scarpias questions as to the presence of someone else at the villa lightly; then, when he becomes more insistent, her replies show irritation, until, turning on her with "ferocious sterness," he tells her that his agents are attempting to wring a confession from Cavaradossi by torture. Even at that moment a groan is heard. Tosca implores mercy for her lover. Yes, if she will disclose the hiding place of Angelotti. Groan after groan escapes from the torture chamber.

Tosca, overcome, bursts into convulsive sobs and sinks back upon a sofa. Spoletta kneels and mutters a Latin prayer. Scarpia remains cruelly impassive, silent, until, seeing his opportunity in Toscas collapse, he steps to the door and signals to the executioner. Roberti, to apply still greater torture. The air is rent with a prolonged cry of pain. Unable longer to bear her lovers anguish and, in spite of warnings to say nothing, which he has called out to her between his spasms, she says hurriedly and in a stifled voice to Scarpia, "The well. . . in the garden." Cavaradossi is borne in from the torture chamber and deposited on the sofa. Kneeling beside him Tosca lavishes tears and kisses upon him. Sciarrone, the judge, Roberti and the Clerk go. In obedience to a sign from Scarpia, Spoletta and the agents remain behind. Still loyal to his friend, Cavaradossi, although racked with pain, asks Tosca if unwittingly in his anguish he has disclosed aught. She reassures him.

In a loud and commanding voice Scarpia says to Spoletta: "In the well in the garden -- Go Spoletta!" From Scarpias words Cavaradossi knows that Tosca has betrayed Angelottis hiding place. He tries to repulse her. Sciarrone rushes in much perturbed. He brings bad news. The victory they have been celebrating has turned into defeat. Bonaparte has triumphed at Marengo. Cavaradossi is roused to enthusiasm by the tidings. "Tremble, Scarpia, thou butcherly hypocrite," he cries. It is his death warrant. At Scarpias command Sciarrone and the agents seize him and drag with away to be hanged. Quietly seating himself at table, Scarpia invites Tosca to a chair. Perhaps they can discover a plan by which Cavaradossi may be saved. He carefully polishes a wineglass with a napkin, fills it with wine, and pushes it toward her. "Your price?" she asks, contemptuously. Imperturbably he fills his glass. She is the price that must be paid for Cavaradossis life.

The horror with which she shrinks from the proposal, her unfeigned detestation of the man putting it forward, make her seem the more fascinating to him. There is a sound of distant drums. It is the escort that will conduct Cavaradossi to the scaffold. Scarpia has almost finished supper. Imperturbably he peels an apple and cuts it in quarters, occasionally looking up and scanning his chosen victims features. Distracted, not knowing whither or to whom to turn, Tosca now utters the famous: Vissi darte e damor, Non feci ma male ad anima viva": (Music and love -- these have I lived for, Nor ever have I harmed a living being. . . In this, my hour of grief and bitter tribulation, O, Heavenly Father, why hast thou forsaken me), The "Vissi darte" justly is considered the most beautiful air in the repertoire of modern Italian opera. It is to passages of surpassing eloquence like this that Puccini owes his fame, and his operas are indebted for their lasting power of appeal.

Beginning quietly, "Vissi darte e damor," it works up to the impassioned, heart-rending outburst of grief with which it comes to an end. A knock at the door. Spoletta comes to announce that Angelotti, on finding himself discovered, swallowed poison. "The other," he adds, meaning Cavaradossi, "awaits your decision." The life of Toscas lover is in the hands of the man who has told her how she may save him. Softly Scarpia asks her, "What say you?" She nods consent; then, weeping for the shame of it, buries her head in the sofa cushions. Scarpia says it is necessary for a mock execution to be gone through with, before Tosca and Cavaradossi can flee Rome. He directs Spoletta that the execution is to be simulated -- "as we did in the case of Palmieri. -- You understand." "Just like Palmieri," Spoletta repeats with emphasis, and goes. Scarpia turns to Tosca. "I have kept my promise" She, however, demands safe conduct for Cavaradossi and herself.

Scarpia goes to his desk to write the paper. With trembling hand Tosca, standing at the table, raises to her lips the wineglass filled for her by Scarpia. As she does so she sees the sharp, pointed knife with which he peeled and quartered the apple. A rapid glance at the desk assures her that he still is writing. With infinite caution she reaches out, secures possession of the knife, conceals it on her person. Scarpia has finished writing. He folds up the paper, advances toward Tosca with open arms to embrace her. "Tosca, at last thou art mine!" With a swift stroke of the knife, she stabs him full in the breast. "It is thus that Tosca kisses!" He staggers, falls. Ineffectually he strives to rise; makes a final effort; falls backward; dies. Glancing back from time to time at Scarpias corpse, Tosca goes to the table, where she dips a napkin in water and washes her fingers. She arranges her hair before a looking-glass, then looks on the desk for the safe-conduct.

Not finding it there, she searches elsewhere for it, finally discovers it clutched in Scarpias dead fingers, lifts his arm, draws out the paper from between the fingers, and lets the arm fall back stiff and stark, as she hides the paper in her bosom. For a brief moment she surveys the body, then extinguishes the lights on the supper table. About to leave, she sees one of the candles on the desk still burning. With a grace of solemnity, she lights with it the other candle, places one candle to the right, the other to the left of Scarpias head, takes down a crucifix from the wall, and, kneeling, places it on the dead mans breast. There is a roll of distant drums. She rises; steals out of the room. In the opera, as in the play, which was one of Sarah Bernhardts triumphs, it is a wonderful scene -- one of the greatest in all drama. Anyone who has seen it adequately acted, knows what it has signified in the success of the opera, even after giving Puccini credit for "Vissi darte" and an expressive accompaniment to all that transpires on the stage.

This 1899 poster for the opera La Tosca by Giacomo Puccini was designed by Adolfo Hohenstein (18541928). Act III. A platform of the Castle Sant Angelo. Left, a casement with a table, a bench, and a stool. On the table are a lantern, a huge register book, and writing materials. Suspended on one of the walls are a crucifix and a votive lamp. Right, a trap door opening on a flight of steps that lead to the platform from below. The Vatican and St. Pauls are seen in the distance. The clear sky is studded with stars. It is just before dawn. The jangle of sheep bells is heard, at first distant, then nearer. Without, a shepherd sings his lay. A dim, grey light heralds the approach of dawn. The firing party conducting Cavaradossi ascends the steps through the trap door and is received by a jailer. From a paper handed him by the sergeant in charge of the picket, the jailer makes entries in the register, to which the sergeant signs his name, then descend the steps followed by the picket.

A bell strikes. "You have an hour," the jailer tells Cavaradossi. The latter craves the favour of being permitted to write a letter. It being granted, he begins to write, but soon loses himself in memories of Tosca. "E lucevan le stelle ed olezzava la terra" (When the stars were brightly shining, and faint perfumes the air pervaded) -- a tenor air of great beauty. He buries his face in his hands. Spoletta and the sergeant conduct Tosca up the steps to the platform, and point out to her where she will find Cavaradossi. A dim light still envelopes the scene as with mystery. Tosca, seeing her lover, rushes up to him and, unable to speak for sheer emotion, lifts his hands and shows him -- herself and the safe-conduct. "At what price?" he asks. Swiftly she tells him what Scarpia demanded of her, and how, having consented, she thwarted him by slaying him with her own hand. Lovingly he takes her hands in his. "O dolci mani mansuede e pure" (Oh! gentle hands, so pitiful and tender).

Her voice mingles with his in love and gratitude for deliverance. Amaro sol per te mera il morire" (The sting of death, I only felt for thee, love). She informs him of the necessity of going through a mock execution. He must fall naturally and lie perfectly still, as if dead, until she calls to him. They laugh over the ruse. It will be amusing. The firing party arrives. The sergeant offers to bandage Cavaradossis eyes. The latter declines. He stands with his back to the wall. The soldiers take aim. Tosca stops her ears with her hands so that she may not hear the explosion. The officer lowers his sword. The soldiers fire. Cavaradossi falls. "How well he acts it!" exclaims Tosca. A cloth is thrown over Cavaradossi. The firing party marches off. Tosca cautions her lover not to move yet. The footsteps of the firing party die away -- "Now get up." He does not move. Can he not hear? She goes nearer to him. "Mario! Up quickly! Away! -- Up! up! Mario!" She raises the cloth.

To the last Scarpia has tricked her. He had ordered a real, not a mock execution. Her lover lies at her feet -- a corpse. There are cries from below the platform. Scarpias murder has been discovered. His myrmidons are hastening to apprehend her. She springs upon the parapet and throws herself into space. Search this Site Tosca | The Opera 101 The Opera 101 Fill out the fields below to contact us! Your name * Recordings About Tosca is one of the most lethal of operas. None of the central characters make it to the end alive, hero or villain. Unsurprisingly then, it's a thrilling melodrama often dismissed as one-dimensional and tawdry. You’d be foolish to go in with this attitude however, Puccini takes an overtly theatrical tale and makes it astonishingly moving. Tosca is fundamentally historical fiction, a vague knowledge of the period is highly useful, though it is very much the 18th Century as seen through 19th Century eyes.

Luckily it still works as seen through 21st Century eyes because at its core, Tosca is tale of romance over politics; featuring a heroic painter, a despicable ruler and an opera superstar, Tosca herself! Productions of Tosca can go a variety of ways though predominantly it remains an opera that is staged fairly literally. Expect a big church to open the evening and an impressive battlement to close it. Characters A sweet, bumbly priest who gets his facts badly wrong in Act I. Synopsis Act I - Running Time: 45 mins We begin in Sant'Andrea della Valle, a large church in Rome. Angelotti comes pelting in, he has just escaped from prison, and hides in a small, private chapel within the church. Our hero for the evening, Cavaradossi enters to resume his work. He is a painter and has been commissioned to paint a picture of Mary Magdalene for the church. The scristan bumbles about and offers Cavaradossi some food, which he refuses. Cavaradossi gets his first big aria of the evening, “Recondita Armonia”.

Jonas Kaufmann sings "Recondita Armonia" Angelotti bursts out, revealing himself to Cavaradossi. They are old friends but as Cavaradossi is on the brink of assisting Angelotti, who should show up but Tosca herself. Cavaradossi quickly gives Angelotti his food and hides him away again. The jealous Tosca is convinced she overheard Cavaradossi talking to someone, believing it to be another woman. She sees Cavaradossi's new painting, recognizing the image as that of Marchesa Attavanti and turns jealous again. Cavaradossi calms her down with “Qual’occhio al mondo”, what eyes in the world could compare to hers! Tosca (Karita Matilla) and Cavaradossi (Marcelo Álvarez), Met Opera She leaves, still demanding that he change the eyes, and Angelotti reappears. Cavaradossi shows him a secret way out and gives him a key to his villa, informing him of a hiding place in the well of the garden. Cannon fire is heard, announcing the escape of a prisoner (Angelotti), Angelotti quickly flees.

Scarpia (Falk Struckmann), Metropolitan Opera The sacristan returns with the church choristers, celebrating the news that Napoleon has been defeated. However things quickly turn sour as Scarpia arrives with his lackeys. They believe Angelotti is hiding in the church and searching the place find the empty food basket and a fan belonging to Attavanti. Scarpia interrogates the sacristan and learning Cavaradossi has been here, becomes convinced that he is on the right track. Tosca comes back looking for Cavaradossi. Scarpia connives to make her jealous by showing her the Attavanti fan. He succeeds and Tosca leaves to confront Cavaradossi unaware that she is to be followed by Scarpia’s men. A truly epic scene of gloating is delivered by Scarpia culminating in the magnificent, “Te Deum”. Act II - Running Time: 40 mins It is later the same day and the curtain rises on Scarpia’s apartment. He has been unable to find Angelotti but has arrested Cavaradossi and sent a note for Tosca to come to his apartment. Cavaradossi is dragged in and interrogated.

He reveals nothing and as Tosca arrives he is taken away to be tortured. In his parting words he tells Tosca to tell Scarpia nothing, no matter his suffering. Cavaradossi Sings his joy, Sarasota Opera Tosca initially resists Scarpia but after hearing Cavaradossi’s screams of pain she crumbles and reveals the location of Angelotti. Cavaradossi is dragged back in and upon hearing that Tosca has broken, he is absolutely devastated. Sciaronne arrives with the news that Napoleon has been victorious at Marengo. This is extremely good news for Cavaradossi and he unleashes “Vittoria, vittoria” in celebration, before being dragged off to be executed. "Vittoria, vittoria" sung by Luciano Pavarotti Left alone with Tosca, Scarpia presents her with a hideous bargain. If she will give herself to him, Cavaradossi will be released. She rejects his advances and sings one of the most famous tunes in the opera, “Vissi d’arte” - I lived for art.

Sondra Radvanovsky sings "Vissi d'arte" Spoletta enters with the news that Angelotti was found but killed himself before he could be arrested. Furthermore, the execution of Cavaradossi has been arranged. Hearing all this, the now broken Tosca agrees to Scarpia’s deal. Scarpia tells Spoletta to complete the execution in the same manner as the execution of Count Palmieri. Tosca presses Scarpia to also grant her and Cavaradossi safe passage from Rome the next day. He agrees and while writing out the letter... Tosca finds a knife on the dinner table. As Scarpia moves to rape her, she stabs him to death. Tosca takes the letter from him, lights candles and places a crusifix on him as a gesture of piety before fleeing the scene. Tosca (Martina Serafin) lays candles, Royal Opera Act III - Running Time: 30 mins The battlement of the Castel Sant’Angelo early the next morning. A young boy is heard singing as the bells chime for matins.

Cavaradossi is led in and informed this will be his final hour, he has no interest in seeing a priest but asks for some paper to write a letter to Tosca. He sings “E lucevan le stelle” - and the stars shone. Tosca arrives and quickly explains everything. The execution will be faked, the firing squad will use blanks so Cavaradossi must pretend to die. They joyously sing of the life they can now have together. Tosca (Angela Gheorghiu) watches Cavaradossi shot, Royal Opera Cavaradossi is led away to be shot. The marksmen fire, Cavaradossi falls to the ground. The marksmen depart as Tosca runs over to Cavaradossi. Surprise, surprise! She finds him dead, Scarpia had tricked her all along. Spoletta is heard off stage with soldiers, Scarpia’s body has been found! Tosca runs to the parapet and crying “O Scarpia, Avanti a Dio!” - Oh Scarpia, we meet before God! She flings herself over the edge.

Tosca (Amanda Echalaz) falls, English National Opera Major Arias Tosca — Productions — Royal Opera House View more news and features On Wikipedia Tosca ([ˈtoska; ˈtɔska]) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French-language dramatic play, La Tosca, is a melodramatic piece set in Rome in June 1800, with the Kingdom of Naples's control of Rome threatened by Napoleon's invasion of Italy. It contains depictions of torture, murder and suicide, as well as some of Puccini's best-known lyrical arias. Puccini saw Sardou's play when it was touring Italy in 1889 and, after some vacillation, obtained the rights to turn the work into an opera in 1895.

Turning the wordy French play into a succinct Italian opera took four years, during which the composer repeatedly argued with his librettists and publisher. Tosca premiered at a time of unrest in Rome, and its first performance was delayed for a day for fear of disturbances. Despite indifferent reviews from the critics, the opera was an immediate success with the public. Musically, Tosca is structured as a through-composed work, with arias, recitative, choruses and other elements musically woven into a seamless whole. Puccini used Wagnerian leitmotifs (short musical statements) to identify characters, objects and ideas. While critics have frequently dismissed the opera as a facile melodrama with confusions of plot—musicologist Joseph Kerman famously called it a "shabby little shocker"—the power of its score and the inventiveness of its orchestration have been widely acknowledged. The dramatic force of Tosca and its characters continues to fascinate both performers and audiences, and the work remains one of the most frequently performed operas. Many recordings of the work have been issued, both of studio and live performances.

Abstract taken from the Wikipedia article Tosca, opera by Puccini - Events and festivals in Sydney - Accorhotels City Guide Tosca, opera by Puccini This event has now finished From Tuesday, January 13 2015 to Tuesday, March 17 2015 Contact details Dizzying and powerful. A female singer who is romantic, passionate, jealous and impulsive; a painter who is an idealistic freedom fighter; a Chief of Police who is hungry for flesh, blood and power, anything to have his own way: Puccini artfully combines the ingredients of a melodrama written for Sarah Bernhardt, somehow composing an opera about opera, a fresco that is at once primitive and decadent. In a mythical and yet real Rome, from the depths of Sant'Andrea della Valle church to the terrace of Castel Sant'Angelo, passions collide and tear each other apart, the erotic merges with the sacred, love with possession, theatre with life. Everything is a pretense in Tosca. Indeed, the lovely ladies who come to pray are conspiratorial, defeats are really victories and mock executions are in fact real.

All these ingredients make Tosca a vertiginous work that manages to capture the essence of opera. Conductor: Andrea Battistoni Amanda Echalaz / Jacqueline Mabardi (Tosca), Roccardo Massi / Diego Torre (Cavaradossi), Claudio Sgura / Shane Lowrencev (Scarpia) The performances take place at the Joan Sutherland Theatre Sung in Italian with English surtitles Address Tosca, opera by Puccini - Events and festivals in Berlin - Accorhotels City Guide Tosca, opera by Puccini Contact details Dizzying and powerful. A female singer who is romantic, passionate, jealous and impulsive; a painter who is an idealistic freedom fighter; a Chief of Police who is hungry for flesh, blood and power, anything to have his own way: Puccini artfully combines the ingredients of a melodrama written for Sarah Bernhardt, somehow composing an opera about opera, a fresco that is at once primitive and decadent.

In a mythical and yet real Rome, from the depths of Sant'Andrea della Valle church to the terrace of Castel Sant'Angelo, passions collide and tear each other apart, the erotic merges with the sacred, love with possession, theatre with life. Everything is a pretense in Tosca. Indeed, the lovely ladies who come to pray are conspiratorial, defeats are really victories and mock executions are in fact real. All these ingredients make Tosca a vertiginous work that manages to capture the essence of opera. Conductor: Stefano Ranzani With (depending on the dates): Sondra Radvanovsky, Oksana Dyka, Adrianne Pieczonka, Jorge de León, Fabio Sartori From Tuesday 9 June 2015 to Wednesday 15 June 2016 : - Thursday from 19:30 to 22:15 - Wednesday from 19:30 to 22:15 - Special Fees : Puccini's Tosca The Story of the Opera Rome, 1800. ACT I.

Cesare Angelotti, an escaped political prisoner, rushes into the church of Sant’ Andrea della Valle to hide in the Attavanti chapel. As he vanishes, an old Sacristan shuffles in, praying at the sound of the Angelus. Cavaradossi enters to work on his portrait of Mary Magdalene - inspired by the Marchesa Attavanti (Angelotti’s sister), whom he has seen but does not know. Taking out a miniature of the singer Floria Tosca, he compares her raven beauty with that of the blonde Magdalene. The Sacristan grumbles disapproval and leaves. Angelotti ventures out and is recognized by his friend and fellow liberal Cavaradossi, who gives him food and hurries him back into the chapel as Tosca is heard calling outside. Forever suspicious, she jealously questions him, then prays, and reminds him of their rendezvous that evening at his villa. Suddenly recognizing the Marchesa Attavanti in the painting, she explodes with renewed suspicions, but he reassures her.

When she has gone, Cavaradossi summons Angelotti from the chapel; a cannon signals that the police have discovered the escape, so the two flee to Cavaradossi’s villa. Meanwhile, the Sacristan returns with choirboys who are to sing in a Te Deum that day. Their excitement is silenced by the entrance of Baron Scarpia, chief of the secret police, in search of Angelotti. When Tosca comes back to her lover, Scarpia shows her a fan with the Attavanti crest, which he has just found. Thinking Cavaradossi faithless, Tosca tearfully vows vengeance and leaves as the church fills with worshipers. Scarpia, sending his men to follow her to Angelotti, schemes to get the diva in his power. ACT II. In the Farnese Palace, Scarpia anticipates the sadistic pleasure of bending Tosca to his will. The spy Spoletta arrives, not having found Angelotti; to placate the baron he brings in Cavaradossi, who is interrogated while Tosca is heard singing a cantata at a royal gala downstairs.

She enters just as her lover is being taken to an adjoining room: his arrogant silence is to be broken under torture. Unnerved by Scarpia’s questioning and the sound of Cavaradossi’s screams, she reveals Angelotti’s hiding place. Cavaradossi is carried in; realizing what has happened, he turns on Tosca, but the officer Sciarrone rushes in to announce that Napoleon has won the Battle of Marengo, a defeat for Scarpia’s side. Cavaradossi shouts his defiance of tyranny and is dragged to prison. Scarpia, resuming his supper, suggests that Tosca yield herself to him in exchange for her lover’s life. Fighting off his embraces, she protests her fate to God, having dedicated her life to art and love. Scarpia again insists, but Spoletta interrupts: faced with capture, Angelotti has killed himself. Tosca, forced to give in or lose her lover, agrees to Scarpia’s proposition. The baron pretends to order a mock execution for the prisoner, after which he is to be freed; Spoletta leaves.

No sooner has Scarpia written a safe-conduct for the lovers than Tosca snatches a knife from the table and kills him. Wrenching the document from his stiffening fingers and placing candles at his head and a crucifix on his chest, she slips from the room. ACT III. The voice of a shepherd is heard as church bells toll the dawn. Cavaradossi awaits execution at the Castel Sant’Angelo; he bribes the jailer to convey a farewell note to Tosca. Writing it, overcome with memories of love, he gives way to despair. Suddenly Tosca runs in, filled with the story of her recent adventures. Cavaradossi caresses the hands that committed murder for his sake, and the two hail their future. As the firing squad appears, the diva coaches Cavaradossi on how to fake his death convincingly; the soldiers fire and depart. Tosca urges Cavaradossi to hurry, but when he fails to move, she discovers that Scarpia’s treachery has transcended the grave: the bullets were real.

When Spoletta rushes in to arrest Tosca for Scarpia’s murder, she cries to Scarpia to meet her before God, then leaps to her death. -Courtesy of Opera News Puccini’s ‘Tosca’ presented by Opera San José at California Theatre – The Mercury News By Leeta-Rose Ballester | Bay Area News Group September 2, 2015 at 12:06 pm Opera San José raises the curtain for Puccini’s “Tosca” as its opening show for the season. Spoiler alert: Everyone dies in this intense 115-year-old melodrama, known to be one of opera’s bloodiest. What changes to a classic, impassioned opera should a director make? Not many, says director Brad Dalton, but he has worked in a few surprises for the production running Sept. 12-29. “I don’t have anything radical I’m doing; it’s not on a moon station or anything,” he said, but added that the leading lady may have an extra level of complexity compared to other versions of the tale. “You can reinvent [the classics] in a certain way but I feel like they are realistic dramas.

That’s how Puccini envisioned it.” The audience will still be thrust into the year 1800, when Napolean threatened to rip control of Rome from the Kingdom of Naples. Corrupt and demented police chief Scarpia (baritone, company resident Matthew Hanscom) will stop at nothing to prevent the French invasion, including torturing and killing those he believes are not aligned with his political vision. Caught in the line of fire is painter Mario Cavaradossi (tenor, resident artist Kirk Dougherty), who is deemed a traitor by Scarpia for hiding away a political activist. Also in the chief’s line of sight is the painter’s lover and title role Floria Tosca, a beloved singing star with a jealous streak. Scarpia’s lust for Tosca leads to bloodshed when he convinces her to give herself to him by promising to spare her lover’s life. Tosca agrees and Cavarodossi’s execution is to be faked, so long as the starlet will let Scarpia have his way with her. In the heat of the moment, Tosca kills the chief of police only to find that the man hadn’t kept his word and her boyfriend is dead.

The triangle of deceit ends in tragedy all around just as always, but Opera San Jose audiences may pick up on a slightly different interpretation of Tosca herself. “A lot of people think of a woman who is jealous and could kill you, but she is driven to that point,” Dalton says. “She doesn’t come on stage as a killer. She doesn’t breathe a word of politics, yet she’s the only one who can get rid of [Scarpia]. “He’s so psychopathic that he loves when women hate him. The more she hates him, the more he’s turned on and the more he creates a killer.” The role is to be performed in four shows by Olga Chernisheva in her company debut and by returning soprano Elizabeth Baldwin for the final two performances. Chernisheva, who has starred in the role with other companies, said she feels Tosca isn’t so much a spoiled diva but a “vulnerable but powerful creature.” “She is played,” the singer said. “She doesn’t believe that people could be that bad.

She just couldn’t even guess the real thoughts and motives [of Scarpia].” It’s in the second act of the opera–when the character murders her stalker–that those familiar with other portrayals of Tosca might have their eyes opened by some tweaks that give a glimpse into her fragility. “Rather than walking out confidently after the kill, there’s a surprise,” Dalton said. The music, conducted by Joseph Marcheso, won’t be modified, but the director said that each production of Tosca is unique simply because of the imprint of all involved with putting the show together. “This is what he wrote and I have to trust it,” he said. “It’s so juicy and beautiful.” Tosca will be performed at the California Theatre, 345 S. First St. Tickets are on sale at the Opera San José Box Office, online at operasj.org and by phone at 408.437.4450 for $50 to $151. Tosca | Minnesota Opera Minnesota Opera Tosca Puccini's Crowning Jewel A fiery prima donna, an idealistic artist and a manipulative chief of police find themselves entangled in a web of drama in this spellbinding classic.

Tosca’s allegiance to her lover, Cavaradossi, is put to the ultimate test by the obsessive Scarpia who will stop at nothing to possess her. This magnificent tale of deceit, love and honor brims with sumptuous music and unforgettable arias. Preliminary run time of 2 hours and 42 minutes, including two intermissions. Sung in Italian with English translations projected above the stage. Buy Tickets Listen to Artistic Director Dale Johnson’s recommended recordings of Tosca on Spotify and YouTube. Synopsis Angelotti, an escaped political prisoner, seeks refuge in a family chapel – his sister, the Marchesa Attavanti, has left him the key. The sacristan enters, muttering about the mess the painter Mario Cavaradossi is making. The artist soon arrives, and the sacristan observes how much the Magdalene in his painting resembles a young woman (the Marchesa) who has been visiting the chapel as of late… Read more... Composer biography Giacomo Puccini was born into a family of court composers and organists in the historic city of Lucca, Italy.

With a strong feeling of tradition in the Puccini family, it was expected that Giacomo would assume his deceased father’s position as Maestro di Cappella when he came of age. By 14 he already was playing organ in a number of the town’s churches. Read more... Opera Insights Get an overview of the characters and music, historical and cultural context for the opera and hear performances by Minnesota Opera Resident Artists. Enjoy this free, fun and informative half-hour session one hour before your performance. Behind the Curtain Tosca on February 24, 2016 at 7pm – Buy Tickets Get the inside scoop! Behind the Curtain explores the music, history, and production of each opera. Each event will feature talks led by Minnesota Opera’s Head of Music Rob Ainsley and informative discussions with members of the cast and creative team. Taste of Opera Tosca on March 20, 2016 at 11am – Call 612-342-9563 to Buy Tickets Enhance your opera-going experience with a Taste of Opera – a delicious pre-show dinner and relaxed conversation with experts from the world of opera.

Classical Minnesota Public Radio hosts an engaging look at each production with special guests from Minnesota Opera. Leave the logistics to us and enjoy an all-inclusive evening out! All About Tosca Puccini's Tosca a tale of love, lust, deceit and murder Our featured opera production this spring is a sensational, multi-media staging of Puccini's dramatic & beloved masterpiece, produced in collaboration with the award winning Boston Academy of Music. Sung in Italian with English translations projected above the stage, our innovative interpretation will make this Tosca a delightful and unforgettable experience for both new opera fans and long time opera lovers. Tosca is a story of overwhelming passion amidst the perils of war. Set in Rome at the time of Napoleon�s advance on the city, the opera opens with the flight of Angelotti, an escaped political prisoner. He seeks refuge in a church where he is protected by Cavaradossi, a local artist who is also the lover of the famous singer, Floria Tosca. The young painter acts suspiciously while protecting his friend and Tosca thinks jealous thoughts, believing him unfaithful. The chief of police, Baron Scarpia, plays upon her jealousy to locate the two men, who are soon captured.

Angelotti takes his own life rather then be held prisoner and Tosca desperately begs Scarpia to spare Cavaradossi, offering her affections in exchange for his life. After securing a note saving her lover from his death sentence, she stabs Scarpia and hurries off to be with Cavaradossi. Tosca finds she has been tricked, however, and the artist dies at the hands of a firing squad. Facing capture for her crime, she leaps to her death to join her lover in the afterlife. Puccini's melodious and melo-dramatic score of love, lust and murder plays against the panoramic politics of soon-to-be Napoleon's Rome. Joseph Bascetta, Stage Director Paul Phillips, Conductor In Providence at VMA Arts and Cultural Center Tosca (Work - Giacomo Puccini/Luigi Illica) | Opera Online - The opera lovers web site Description Act 1 Act 2 Act 3 Can a diva be the heroine of an opera? The beautiful and sanguine Tosca is perhaps the most striking character penned by Puccini, inspired by a role Sarah Bernhardt created for the theatre.

With the city of Rome as a backdrop, the opera tells a realistic story of passion and politics, overshadowed, from the moment the curtain rises, by Scarpia, the terrifying chief of police whose toxic personality gradually poisons the atmosphere of this oppressive huis clos. Tosca offers two hours of action and passion, captured in a torrent of lyricism and luxuriant orchestration and a libretto that is as effective as a motion picture scenario. Art, love, religion, sadism, conspiracies… all the ingredients of a perfect melodrama mingle and resonate with strength and contemporary realism. Summary Rome, 1880. While working on the church of Sant'Andrea della Valle, the painter Mario Cavaradossi, lover of the (jealous) Tosca, agrees to assist a political prisoner, Cesare Angelotti, in his efforts to escape. The chief of police, Scarpia, whose political ambitions thinly disguise his unparalleled cruelty, is on Angelotti’s trail and quickly discovers Cavaradossi's involvement. The only way to achieve his evil ends is to manipulate the beautiful Tosca, the object of all his fantasies.

Cavaradossi is arrested and Scarpia comes close to having his way with Tosca, before she stabs him to death. But the perverse machinations of Scarpia outlive him: after a brief glimmer of hope, Mario dies, executed, while Tosca, fleeing her pursuers, jumps off the top of the Castel Sant’Angelo to her death. Act 1 Angelotti, an escaped political prisoner, has hidden in the church of Sant’Andrea della Valle where Mario Cavaradossi is working on a portrait of Mary Magdalene, whose features contrast with those of his lover, the singer Floria Tosca Excerpt : « Recondita armonia » Tosca is jealous and suspects someone is in the church. Yet she cannot remain angry and asks Mario to meet her that evening. As soon as she leaves the chapel and Angelotti is safely out of sight, the sound of canons signals the prisoner’s escape. Scarpia is sure that Angelotti has been in the church and, moreover, he is suspicious of Cavaradossi’s republican sympathies. Above all, Scarpia dreams of possessing the beautiful Tosca.

His reverie is broken as a procession enters singing the Te Deum. Excerpt : « Te Deum » Act 2 In the Palazzo Farnese, Scarpia has Mario tortured in order to find Angelotti’s hiding place. But it is Tosca who gives in and reveals the secret. Scarpia promises her she can save Mario from execution if she gives herself to him. She sings a fervent prayer… Excerpt : « Vissi d’arte » Act 3 Tosca has stabbed Scarpia to death, after obtaining a safe-conduct that she hopes will allow her and Mario to flee. The latter, held in the Castel Sant'Angelo, sings of happier days... Excerpt : « E lucevan le stelle » Tosca explains to Mario that he must feign his death, according to Scarpia’s plan. But the plan turns out to be a trap: the bullets are real and Mario collapses! Tosca is devastated. As the soldiers rush in to arrest her, she runs to the parapet. “Scarpia must answer to God!” she cries, as she throws herself over the edge. Excerpt : « Presto, su! Mario, Mario! »

Question: Who is the Chief of Police in Puccini's opera 'Tosca'?
Answer: BARON SCARPIA